1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processor for remotely operating another information processor, an information processor that is remotely operated by a remote control device, and a control method therefor.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, networks have come into widespread use in the information technology field, making it possible to connect various devices via a network and share data to be used by the devices over the network. Examples of the network include a wide area network represented by the Internet and a local area network used in a limited area. In addition, a personal network by which a network can easily be built for personal use, and other networks are well on the way to widespread use.
Examples of means adopted for building a network include not only a conventional wired communication system, but also a wireless LAN standardized by IEEE 802.11 and a short-range wireless communication system represented by a Bluetooth wireless technology.
In one of applications making use of those network technologies, an image taking device represented by a digital still camera or a digital video camera (hereinafter, referred to as “digital camera”) is remotely controlled by a device such as a personal computer, a personal digital assistance (PDA), a cellular telephone, or a high-performance remote controller (hereinafter, referred to as “control device”).
According to a conventional digital camera, a photography operation is inhibited when a free area for recording an image is available in none of various storage media such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magnetic tape, and a semiconductor memory (hereinafter, generically referred to as “memory”) for storing photographic image data. In other words, in the case where the digital camera that is being remotely controlled has the memory run out of free capacity during photography, a remote camera operation becomes disabled.
Accordingly, when there is no free capacity left in the memory during photography, a user who is operating a control device need to interrupt the remote camera control to operate the digital camera directly, and perform an operation such as transfer of image data to another device or replacement the memory itself. Therefore, there arises a problem in that the user is forced to move to a distant place where the digital camera is set and to perform troublesome operations.
That is, there is a problem in that when the digital camera that is being remotely controlled has the memory run out of free capacity during photography, the troublesome operations are necessary for continuing the photography.
Further, wireless technologies have been standardized as a result of many information devices having various wireless functions appearing on the market. Depending on how the standardized wireless technologies are put into actual operation, the situations may not always produce efficiency. For example, inefficient situations may occur in the case of implementing complicated connection services such as the case where a single device establishes a plurality of wireless communications with different devices independently or changes connection destinations sequentially among devices using various connection services in order to send an image from the image taking device, which is being remotely controlled by wireless communications, to a printer, a storage device, and the like for printing or storing the image.
Further, due to functional constraints inherently imposed on a device, there exists a device having an interface that does not necessarily suit the operation of wireless function portions or a device with limitations on the control operation itself. Accordingly, it may be difficult to operate those devices.